At the request of Assemblymember James Ramos, CalRetailers President and CEO Rachel Michelin testified on Wednesday at a Joint Legislative Audit Committee, which included a request to review the efficacy of Prop. 47. Following Rachel’s testimony, which was included alongside Assemblymember Ramos’, the committee voted unanimously to approve the audit request.
The audit is focused in San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, which includes Asm. Ramos’ district, and will focus on data collection from both the statewide and local levels including the California Department of Justice and several local law enforcement agencies within both counties. While this audit is focused on a specific area in California, it provides a crucial starting point for much-needed data collection around organized retail crime, retail theft, and other crimes impacting the business community.
During the hearing, Rachel testified “the challenge we have right now is the lack of data. We need criminal justice reform and we need to fix Prop. 47, but we can’t begin to work on those efforts until we have the data this audit will help collect.”
“It is important that we look at Prop 47 and its effects in California,” Ramos said. “Public safety can only be strengthened by the objective collection of this data. The residents of San Bernardino and Riverside counties deserve answers on this critical issue that affects all of us every day.”
View the audit request letter here.
To view a recording of the hearing visit https://www.assembly.ca.gov/media-archive.
